MUNICH, July 30, 2014
Telefónica Deutschland releases first half 2014 results
- Improved revenue performance driven by LTE and data monetization in a
competitive environment
- Significant increase in trading momentum on the back of commercial
initiatives in consumer and business segments
- Solid financial profile maintained after dividend payment
"Our improved operating and financial performance throughout the first half
of 2014 is the tangible result of a very consistent mobile data
monetization strategy, leveraging a very focused team", said Rachel Empey
(CFO).
With respect to the envisaged acquisition of E-Plus Group, Markus Haas
(CSO) commented: "After the recent completion of the important European
Commission conditional clearance milestone, we are confident on the closure
of the transaction during the third quarter of the year. We have already
taken the first steps to configure the organization that will transform
Telefónica Deutschland into a leading digital telco."
Second quarter 2014 operational & financial highlights:
- Net additions in the mobile postpaid segment reached 152 thousand, a
significant quarter-on-quarter uptake (x2) compared to the average of
the last four quarters.
- Smartphone penetration further improved and stood at 33.1% at the end
of June (72.1% in the O2 consumer postpaid segment and 21.3% in the O2
consumer prepaid segment) with a continued demand for LTE-enabled
smartphones (86% of total smartphones sold).
- Total revenues reached 1,162 million Euro, improving the year-on-year
performance to -4.4% (-8.8% year-on-year in the first quarter 2014).
- Wireless service revenue decreased by 2.5% year-on-year , an improved
performance over previous quarters following the strong traction of the
new commercial propositions in both the consumer and the business
segment with a favorable mix in acquisition and retention, plus
stabilization of the lower SMS service usage trend.
- The wireline business continued showing a decline of revenues (-7.6%
year-on-year), as a result of a lower retail fixed broadband access
base in a tougher competitive environment.
- OIBDA margin showed a year-on-year decline of 2.5 percentage points on
the back of increased commercial spend to enhance trading performance,
while OIBDA sustained its performance over the previous quarters
(-14.5% year-on-year).
- CapEx was lower year-on-year by 10.9%, totaling 134 million Euro. The
deployment of the LTE network remained the key focus, while generally
investments showed a different year-on-year phasing ahead of the
envisaged transaction with the E-Plus Group.
- Free Cash Flow pre dividends (FCF) in the first half of the year
reached 397 million Euro (from 345 million Euro in 2013), a strong
conversion from operating cash flow which was mainly driven by higher
deferred income which impacted positively the change in working capital
over the period.
- Consolidated net financial debt at the end of June 2014 stood at 634
million Euro (compared to 468 million Euro as of December 31, 2013),
reaching a leverage ratio of 0.6x.
Telefónica Deutschland's operating performance
At the end of June 2014, Telefónica Deutschland customer accesses totaled
25.1 million, broadly stable year-on-year (-0.9%). The mobile access base
also remained stable (+0.1% year-on-year) at 19.4 million, while fixed line
accesses declined by 4.2% year-on-year to 5.7 million.
Main commercial highlights for the second quarter of 2014 include:
- Since April 8, 2014 the refreshed "O2 Blue All-in" portfolio is
available in the German market. Access to LTE is included in all
tariffs and a new tariff for high usage customers has been introduced
("O2 Blue All-in Premium").
- Launch of integrated roaming packages from May 20, 2014 for the "O2
Blue All-in" portfolio with monthly data allowances for carefree
surfing while being abroad in the EU.
- Enhancement of our digital approach with the further roll out of the
"O2 Guru" initiative, making the digital experience of using a
smartphone easier for customers.
- On June 4, 2014, Telefónica Deutschland launched the new "O2 Blue
All-in DSL Professional" tariffs with professional all-round service,
fast internet access with up to 50 Mbit/s and a voice flat rate for all
German landline and mobile networks.
- Our core mobile network is now ready to support mobile voice over LTE
(mVoLTE) calls on enabled SIMs cards within compatible devices in the
cities of Munich, Hamburg, Berlin and Düsseldorf.
Postpaid mobile net additions for the first six months of 2014 reached 230
thousand, with second quarter's figure (152 thousand) more than doubling
the average registered over the last four quarters. The positive trend of
gross additions was maintained on the back of continued commercial
investments, with a favorable customer mix for both new acquisitions and
renewals, further supported by churn performance. Total postpaid base
increased to 10.5 million customers (+2.5% year-on-year) improving its
share over the total mobile base by 1.2 percentage points to 54.1% at the
end of June.
The mobile prepaid segment registered 9 thousand net additions in the
quarter (195 thousand net disconnections in the January to June period)
driven by a strong performance of secondary brands. Total prepaid customer
base stood at 8.9 million at the end of June (-2.5% year-on-year).
Blended churn in both the first half of 2014 and the second quarter
slightly improved year-on-year, reaching 2.1% and 1.9% respectively.
Postpaid churn was stable year-on-year at 1.4% (1.3% for the second
quarter, an improvement of 0.3 percentage points quarter-on-quarter), a
reflection of the ongoing customer retention activities.
Smartphone penetration reached 33.1% at the end of June 2014, further
improving by 4.3 percentage points over the previous year. In the specific
segment of O2 consumer postpaid, smartphone penetration improved to 72.1%
(+4.8 percentage points year-on-year). Also in the prepaid segment,
smartphone penetration continued to show growth, reaching 21.3% in O2
consumer segment (+6.9 percentage points year-on-year) and a remarkable
32.3% in the secondary brand Fonic (+16.4 percentage points year-on-year).
The share of LTE-enabled handsets as a percentage of total smartphones sold
further increased to reach 82% in the period from January to June (86% in
the second quarter) driven by the increasing demand for LTE from new and
existing customers.
Mobile ARPU in the first half of 2014 was 12.3 Euro (12.5 Euro in the
second quarter), a decline of 2.6% year-on-year (-2.5% ex MTR cuts) showing
an improving year-on-year trend in the second quarter vs. the previous one.
Postpaid ARPU declined 4.5% year-on-year ex MTR cuts (-4.7% in reported
terms) to reach 18.7 Euro in the first half of the year. In the second
quarter, postpaid ARPU was 18.8 Euro, -4.2% year-on-year ex MTR cuts and
-4.4% in reported terms. The improvement seen vs. prior quarter's
performance was mainly driven by a favorable customer mix in both
acquisition and renewals plus the stabilization of the declining SMS trend.
The adoption of LTE services from new and existing customers continued to
be an important driver for ARPU, while not yet completely offsetting
headwinds coming from the lower usage of SMS and the repositioning of the
customer base to lower pricing when renewing their long-term contracts.
Prepaid ARPU reached 5.1 Euro in the first six months of 2014, an
improvement of 1.6% year-on-year ex MTR cuts (+1.3% in reported terms),
driven by the higher adoption of data tariffs within this segment and the
stabilization of SMS usage trends.
Retail fixed broadband accesses stood at 2.2 million at the end of June
(-4.5% year-on-year) after a net loss of 53 thousand in the first half of
the year (-35 thousand in the second quarter) amidst a significantly
tougher competitive environment.
Wholesale broadband accesses registered 27 thousand net additions in the
first six months of 2014 (24 thousand in the second quarter).
Telefónica Deutschland's financial performance
Revenues for the first half of 2014 period totaled 2,284 million Euro
(1,162 million Euro in the second quarter), a year-on-year performance of
-6.5% ex MTR cuts (-6.6% in reported terms). In the second quarter, the
revenue performance was -4.3% year-on-year ex MTR cuts (-4.4% in reported
terms), a significant improvement compared to the previous quarter (-8.7%
year-on-year ex MTR cuts; -8.8% in reported terms).
Wireless service revenues amounted to 1,435 million Euro in the first half
of the year, a decline of 3.0% year-on-year ex MTR cuts (-3.1% in reported
terms). In the second quarter, wireless service revenues reached 728
million Euro and showed an improved performance over previous quarters
(-2.5% year-on-year ex MTR cuts and -2.7% in reported terms). The O2
consumer segment continued to be the main driver of revenue performance,
with increased trading and favorable mix in acquisition and renewals as a
result of a continued commercial investment, besides the stabilization of
trends seen for SMS usage. In this specific segment, the share of bundled
revenues as a percentage of total wireless service revenues continued to
grow by 6.7 percentage points year-on-year to reach 68.2% in the first half
of 2014.
Mobile data revenues in the first half of 2014 totaled 704 million Euro
(-1.4% year-on-year), representing 49% of wireless service revenues (+0.9
percentage points year-on-year). In the second quarter, mobile data
revenues registered a 1.5% year-on-year decline to 354 million Euro.
Non-SMS data revenues continued being the main driver for revenue growth,
reaching 508 million Euro in the first half of 2014 (256 million Euro in
the second quarter), with a year-on-year increase of 10.6% and 9.1%
respectively. The share of non-SMS data revenues over total data revenues
further increased to 72.3% for the first half year, 7.8 percentage points
higher than in the same period of 2013, which is the result of the
successful execution of the Company's data monetization strategy.
SMS revenues continued to show a stabilization in their rate of decline
(-21.6% year-on-year in the second quarter vs. -24.6% in the first
quarter).
Handset revenues in the January to June 2014 period declined by 21.1%
year-on-year and reached 264 million Euro, with almost all handset sales
made under the "O2 My Handy" distribution model. The second quarter
registered handset revenues of 144 million Euro (-6.9% year-on-year),
showing a better performance than in the previous quarter (-33.2%
year-on-year) due to the launching of new devices and selective bundle
offers with tariffs from the new "O2 Blue All-in" portfolio, further
supported by the "#YouCanDo" brand campaign in the second quarter.
Wireline revenues reached 581 million Euro in the first half of 2014 (287
million Euro in the second quarter) which represents a year-on-year decline
of 7.3% and 7.6% respectively, mainly driven by a declining DSL retail
customer base and a tougher market environment in the second quarter.
Operating expenses amounted to 1,841 million Euro in the first half of
2014, a year-on-year decline of 3.7%. For the second quarter, they totaled
932 million Euro, 1.2% lower year-on-year. This performance was mainly
driven by:
- Decline in supplies of 9.4% year-on-year to 883 million Euro for the
six months period and -3.7% year-on-year in the second quarter to 455
million Euro as a result of lower termination costs for outgoing SMS
and a reduction in year-on-year handset sales (with a significant
change in the second vs. the first quarter).
- Personnel expenses increased by 2.7% year-on-year to reach 213 million
Euro in the January to June period and 105 million Euro in the second
quarter, following the general increases in salaries from July 2013
onwards.
- Other expenses increased by 2.2% year-on-year to amount to 745 million
Euro for the first half of the year (+0.9% year-on-year to 372 million
Euro in the second quarter) mainly driven by the continued commercial
investments to enhance trading momentum.
Operating Income before Depreciation and Amortization (OIBDA) totaled 486
million Euro in the first half of 2014, a year-on-year decline of 15.1%.
For the second quarter, OIBDA amounted to 252 million Euro (-14.5%
year-on-year), sustaining the performance seen in previous quarters. The
resulting OIBDA margin was down 2.1 percentage points year-on-year to 21.3%
for January to June 2014 period and down 2.5 percentage point to 21.7% for
the second quarter.
OIBDA excluding group fees reached 515 million Euro for the first half of
the year (-14.6% year-on-year) and 265 million Euro in the second quarter
(-14.5% year-on-year) with an OIBDA margin of 22.6% and 22.8% respectively
(a decline of 2.1 percentage points for the first half and 2.7 percentage
points for the second quarter).
The year-on-year OIBDA performance was mainly driven by the negative
flow-through from service revenues performance and the continued commercial
investments to gain trading momentum in the market.
Depreciation & Amortization in the first half of 2014 totaled 534 million
Euro, a decrease of 5.7% year-on-year, primarily attributable to already
fully written off assets, especially in the software category.
Operating income totaled -48 million Euro for January to June 2014,
compared to 6 million Euro in the same period of 2013.
Net financial result as of June 30, 2014 was -16 million Euro, broadly
stable year-on-year.
The Company did not report material income tax expenses in the six months
period ending June 30, 2014 nor in the same period of 2013.
Profit for the period in the six months period of 2014 was -64 million
Euro, compared to -10 million Euro for January to June 2013.
CapEx amounted to 266 million Euro for the first half year of 2014, lower
10.1% year-on-year. For the second quarter CapEx totaled 134 million Euro,
-10.9% year-on-year. This is reflecting the focused investments into LTE
network deployment and a different year-on-year phasing of investments.
Operating Cash Flow (OIBDA minus CapEx) decreased by 20.5%, amounting to
219 million Euro for the January to June 2014 period.
Free Cash Flow pre dividends (FCF) reached 397 million Euro for the first
half of 2014, compared to 345 million Euro in 2013. The strong conversion
of operating cash flow into free cash flow was the result of a positive
change in working capital from 91 million Euro in 2013 to 191 million Euro
in 2014. The majority of this increase is explained by a higher deferred
income registered in the period, primarily driven by advanced payments.
Consolidated net financial debt at the end of June 2014 reached 634 million
Euro, compared to 468 million Euro as of December 31, 2013, with the
dividend payment of 525 million Euro in May having a principal role. As a
result, the leverage ratio increased to 0.6x.
APPENDIX - DATA TABLES
Please refer to the following link to access the download of the data
tables. Thank you.
https://www.telefonica.de/investor-relations-en/financial-reports/q2-2014.
html
Further information
Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG
Investor Relations
Georg-Brauchle-Ring 23-25
80992 München
Victor J. García-Aranda, Head of Investor Relations
Marion Polzer, Manager Investor Relations
Pia Hildebrand, Office Coordinator Investor Relations
(t) +49 89 2442 1010
ir-deutschland@telefonica.com
www.telefonica.de/investor-relations
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respect to future events, including financial projections and estimates and
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